If any water-based demon opened a cave mansion below, it would indeed be an excellent choice, as it would at least avoid human disturbance.

He actually brought her to the riverside! Ning Xiaoxian widened her eyes, could it be...?

Sure enough, he stopped only when he reached the riverside and turned to say: "Aren’t you the one chosen as the bride of the Water God? Don’t you want to see what the River God here looks like?"

Though he said it casually, she had an illusion that this guy seemed angry enough to want to throw her into the river. She stammered, "I don’t need to see."

He glanced at her sidelong and walked to the riverbank, folding his arms across his chest: "The tusk?"

Ning Xiaoxian stuck out her tongue, and the dagger-like tusk floated from her palm, then she plunged it into the shallow waters at the riverbank. Waves after waves of invisible ripples spread out from the tusk, rapidly diffusing through the entire stretch of water in front of her.

Changtian’s own divine power was too overwhelming; if he released it, it might scare away the "Water God" here, causing more effort. The tusk was made from his snake teeth before he overcame the Heavenly Tribulation, with relatively smaller power. However, Ning Xiaoxian couldn’t understand how he knew that the spirit monster in the river could withstand the tusk’s divine power.

Sure enough, within moments, there was movement from the river.

The night was clear, the moon and stars were sparse, and a faint mist hovered over the river. At this moment, a breeze blew, the mist slightly dissipated, and she saw in the distance a person walking on the undulating water surface. His face was purple and black, with high cheekbones and wide eyes; just from his appearance, he had quite a fierce aura. This person also wore loose robes with wide sleeves, fluttering incessantly in the strong river wind.

However, Ning Xiaoxian knew it was merely an illusion. With her keen eyesight, she discerned that though this person seemed to have rosy skin, it was just a trick of illusion. This illusion was so deceiving that mortals might believe an immortal had descended.

To her surprise, the Water God guarding this great river was a demon, not a spirit monster! She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows. From her insight, she could see this was not an External Body but an illusion formed by sorcery, the Water God’s true body was certainly within several hundred meters and most likely residing in the river’s heart before her and Changtian.

On seeing the two on the shore, this person seemed to frown, and a voice like a distant booming bell spread out: "Who are you, daring to provoke!"

Changtian’s mouth curled into a slight, cold smile: "And who are you, daring to deceive and swindle here?"

What does deceive and swindle mean? Ning Xiaoxian blinked her eyes, realizing then that Changtian had restrained his aura, making it impossible for others to discern his cultivation depth from his appearance.

The Water God’s deep voice indeed carried anger: "Youngster, you’re courting death!"

Changtian stepped forward two steps, his feet on the water surface as if on flat ground, standing firm like a towering mountain, unaffected by the rolling waves. He bent his thumb and forefinger, raising the other three fingers to form a numeral three: "Reveal your true body. If I don’t defeat you in three rounds, I will give you my life."

He spoke with such arrogance; naturally, the Water God was infuriated, but Ning Xiaoxian sensed something unusual.

He always disliked dragging matters on, in the past, he would have beat up the demon immediately without a word, possibly even killing it outright. Now, he was exchanging more words with the demon, evidently holding different intentions.

What does he plan?

The Water God didn’t understand Changtian as well as she did, but was unsure of his cultivation depth, and seeing such a provocation, assumed he must have some skill. The Water God, having lived long, knew that anomalies must have their reasons, so he cautiously summoned his true body.

With a loud "whoosh," a colossal body emerged from the river’s heart. This body was entirely dark red, the color of rust, over seventy zhang (more than two hundred meters) long, sprawling across the great river like a gigantic cruise ship. In that instant, Ning Xiaoxian saw clearly, its head was square and straight like a train engine, with fins, a tail, and mustaches, resembling a whale. But within its terrifyingly large mouth, as it sucked in and spat out river water, sharp interlocking teeth could be vaguely seen, these teeth glinting with red light, chilling to behold.

As it rose, the river’s center was met with surging waves, but even the fiercest breakers hit it like crashing into a pillar standing midstream, incapable of making it waver.

Even though she had seen Changtian’s True Form of Ba Snake, she was still witnessing for the first time such a huge, living water beast, and couldn’t help but gasp. She thought the one occupying the Water God position was merely a mountain spirit and wild monster, but who knew it was such a legitimate great monster!